The Storm (3)

Even as I once again became keenly aware of my own standing, Rina did not raise her head. Looking straight ahead, I saw her golden hair cascading like a waterfall.

Apparently, she had no intention of looking up until I spoke. I couldn't see her face, so I didn't know what expression she wore, but she was probably nervous.

I intended to accept Rina's apology. If an imperial princess had bowed her head and apologized, and I still refused to accept it, that would be a problem in itself.

And the moment I refused her apology, this emotion welling up inside me seemed likely to spill out. I had never quite identified it, but her apology let me recognize it.

Power (權力)

After reincarnating into this world, the thing I had hated most was its unjust power structure. Ironically, though, what was now welling up inside my chest was a desire for power.

In my previous life, I had been nothing more than a writer who liked writing, but now I had become someone capable of shaping the world. To top it off, a demon princess and an imperial princess were treating me with deference.

Who could possibly avoid being swept up in this desire? I could confidently say no one. Even someone who had always hated power could not escape its grasp after tasting it.

So if I took even one more step in that direction, power would devour me. But power always ends up leading people to ruin.

'Something other than power...'...